The Chelsea ownership saga is rumbling on, some weeks after it was announced that Roman Abramovich was selling the club.
Multiple figures have emerged as potential frontrunners and the club is considering all offers, given that the deadline for bids and proposals was on Friday, March 18.
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One such interested party was the Ricketts Family. While the family has since announced its withdrawal of its bid, the Americans were met with opposition from Chelsea fans during its push for Chelsea ownership as a result of a prior racism row.
Supporters engaged in a Twitter campaign, with the hashtag #NoToRicketts becoming widely prevalent and highlighting the concerns around the potential new owners.
Why were Cubs owners under fire from Chelsea fans?
The Ricketts family, famous for owning the Chicago Cubs baseball team, faced intense scrutiny while their interest in buying Chelsea was alive.
Joe Ricketts, the family patriarch, was accused of Islamophobia in 2019 after he described Muslims as "my enemy" in a leaked email exchange. The 80-year-old apologized after the emails became public, insisting, "I strongly believe that bigoted ideas are wrong."
The controversy has prompted opposition from Chelsea fans toward the Ricketts' prospective takeover, while Paul Canoville, the club's first black player, said via Twitter that he was "saying a big fat anti-racism NO" to the family's bid.
Representatives of the family met with the club's supporters trust in London in an effort to alleviate concerns.
Ricketts family withdraws bid to buy Chelsea
On Friday, April 15, the Ricketts family withdrew its bid to purchase Chelsea FC. The bid was among the final four remaining offers, but the family decided not to pursue its offer further and was withdrawn from consideration.
“The Ricketts-Griffin-Gilbert Group has decided, after careful consideration, not to submit a final bid for Chelsea FC,” the ownership consortium said in a statement. “In the process of finalizing their proposal, it became increasingly clear that certain issues could not be addressed given the unusual dynamics around the sales process. We have great admiration for Chelsea and its fans, and we wish the new owners well.”
The family did not elaborate further on what issues could not be addressed or give any other reasons for withdrawal. The removal from consideration left three remaining bids on the table.
Who wants to buy Chelsea?
The deadline for all bids and proposals to buy Chelsea from Abramovich was March 18. They include Todd Boehly, Saudi Media Group, a consortium led by Nick Candy, Aethel Partners, a consortium including World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, and the Ricketts family.
All bidders have expressed similar objectives, such as helping to update the stadium, improve the quality of the training facilities and grounds for both men's and women's teams, and look to offer contracts to players such as Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta, whose deals expire at the end of the season.
Why are Chelsea for sale?
Abramovich, who bought Chelsea in 2003 and bankrolled a spell of huge sporting success for the club, decided to sell after being sanctioned by the United Kingdom government over his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine.
Abramovich saw assets frozen and a travel ban imposed as the UK's prime minister, Boris Johnson, declared that there would be "no safe havens" for those considered to have supported or aided Putin's invasion. Abramovich has previously denied holding strong ties with Moscow.
After initially declaring that he would hand over "stewardship and care" of Chelsea to its foundation trustees, Abramovich said on March 2 that he had made the "incredibly difficult decision" to sell as it would be "in the best interest of the club, the fans, the employees, as well as the club's sponsors and partners." The 55-year-old said he would not ask for the club to repay any loans and promised that net proceeds from the sale would go to victims of the war in Ukraine.
In his 19 years in control of the club, Abramovich saw Chelsea win every available major trophy, including five Premier League titles, five FA Cups, two Champions Leagues and the FIFA Club World Cup.